Garafolo: League finally engaging Brady, NFLPA in settlement talks

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

I like it but it doesn't go far enough. The Colts, Ravens, and anyone else in pursuing this "gotcha" needs to be investigated and if warranted, punishments levied with compensation coming to the Pats.

After that, let's talk about the handslap the Rats got for tampering with, and stealing, Revis and adjusting the penalty approprately, again, more compensation coming the Pats' way.

Getting exonerated still doesn't punish the perpetrators. They can't be allowed to get away with it.

Totally agree. Clearing Brady should be a starting point, not an ending point. The NFL's handling of the matter was beyond ridiculous and a complete overhaul of the NFL office needs to occur. Starting with Goodell.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

What stopped them from doing that in January and February?

I don't think they fully understood the Ideal Gas Law and how this was a witchhunt in the face of science, the likes of which hasn't been seen since the Dark Ages....

 

[Deus Irae]

Is this "negotiation" even allowed in the CBA?

Negotiation of punishments has been going on since long before Deflategate.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Totally agree. Clearing Brady should be a starting point, not an ending point. The NFL's handling of the matter was beyond ridiculous and a complete overhaul of the NFL office needs to occur. Starting with Goodell.

I think that is a likely long term outcome, but the wheels of justice in this case will turn slowly as long as the TV dollars continue to roll in.

The dust will have to settle and then a critical mass of owners will have to decide that this was all just too embarrassing, especially in the context of the Rice and Peterson debacles. That will probably take six months to a year to happen.

At that point they will have to decide whether to dump Goodell before his contract is up or whether the money is good enough to let him stay in place. This will get dicey because the CBA is up in 2020 and I doubt the owners will want to put a new Commissioner in place in 2019 when Goodell's contract is up. So, there would be pressure to get him out a year or two before the contract ends, maybe at the end of the 2016-17 season.

The "good news" is that Goodell's incompetence pretty much assures that he will **** something else up and give the owners the excuse they need to move.

 

[patfanken]

I think virtually every post in this thread has an element of accuracy in it regarding the final outcome, but I do disagree in a couple of places.

1. I think the installation of new "rules" about handling game balls suggests that the League knows it did not have adequate procedures in place.
2. I think it's finally dawned on the League that it has far more to lose in a court case than Brady, for whom the worst outcome is that he's out a few bucks he can afford and ends up in the same place he is today.
3. I think it's a mistake to underestimate the role that the League's awareness of the size of the joint Brady/Bundchen pocketbook is playing in this.
4. I think Sally Jenkins offered Goodell his "out" weeks ago; her suggestion was essentially taken up by Florio and King last week.
5. I think the League is looking for a way to undo the suspension and save some face.
6. I think Brady and his team are smart enough to understand #5.
7. I think it's a big game of "chicken" right now between the League and Brady.
8. I think the NFLPA wants to go to court more than Brady because it sees this as a chance to undo its error in agreeing to the absurd Arbitration clause of the CBA.
9. I think the NFLPA is eventually going to have to fight its own battles and strike during the next round of negotiations, if necessary, to get the Arbitration clause changed; that's not Brady's responsibility.
10. I don't think Brady's going to get an apology from the League under any circumstances.
11. I think the League will reduce Brady's suspension to zero games on the grounds that its procedures give it no way of proving that a "crime" was ever committed (the Sally Jenkins Solution).
12. I think the League might try to leave the possibility open of re-opening the case after it gathers some real data from game-day measurements this year, but I doubt that will fly.
13. I think the League will not exonerate Brady, but that it will stop attacking him (that means you, Troy Vincent) and will agree not to refute Brady when he maintains his innocence.
14. I think Brady will agree to a fine for "non-co-operation" in the original inquiry. I don't know what the fine will be, but Favre paid $50,000 and the maximum a player can be fined in a circumstance like this is, I believe, $250,000, so it will be between those two numbers.
15. I think some owners will be really pissed off at this outcome, but that Goodell will explain the facts of life to them by detailing the risks of a court fight.
16. I think this all would have been resolved weeks ago if Kraft had kept the possibility of an Owner's Suit on the table, even if he never intended to pursue that option.
17. I think there will be a new Commissioner when or before Goodell's contract is up in 2019.

This is an excellent summary. PF74, I have had no doubts that Brady is going to be available for the start of the season (sorry Jimmie), one way or the other. But regardless of this inevitable truth, I won't personally be happy unless or until Brady takes the league to court on defamation charges. That is the ONLY way to even partially undo the damage done to Brady and the Pats. THAT is a fact.

My biggest fear is that the will do something smart. If I were Goodell I would use the new pregame game ball procedures to come out and say, "I am postponing implementation of the penalties for Brady until 2016. The information gathered from these new procedures will allow us to better understand exactly what happened in the AFCCG. Based on these findings will implement these punishments or not. In the meantime the league will fine Mr. Brady $50,000 for his non-cooperation with Mr. Welles' investigation."

If he does that he will (if I dare say it)he will deflate most of the national media's feeding frenzy WITHOUT taking the onus off the Patriots and Brady as cheaters, and we as Pats fans will have to live with this for another year. In other words with this strategy he does 2 things. He gives the nation what it wants (Brady on the field), and never has to admit any guilt, liability, or conspiracy.

I am praying that Goodell will continue his blind stupidity and not "settle" for anything less than the 4 games. It won't stop Brady from playing all 16 games this season, for he will surely win his court case. However the ONLY chance Brady has to regain most of his lost legacy will be to actually have prove his INNOCENCE in a Federal court. And the only way THAT can happen is if he sues the league and media outlets for malicious defamation of character. To my mind Brady has the kind of case can win even in an area where the bar is set as high as it is.

 

[farn]

It's been a few weeks since I stated that Kraft can go to hell. Robert Kraft can go to hell.

The suspension - as absurd and unprecedented as it is - doesn't even bother me as much as the lost first round draft pick. PSIgate is probably the one thing I'll have a hard time explaining to my grandchildren when they ask me about the stupidest thing I can recall.

 

[grux]

If Brady's suspension is overturned does that leave the door open to getting our draft picks back or are we screwed because Kraft laid down like a rug?

 

[supafly]

If Brady's suspension is overturned does that leave the door open to getting our draft picks back or are we screwed because Kraft laid down like a rug?

No one really knows, since the NFL makes things up as they go on, but the popular belief is that the draft picks are long gone. One can still hold out hope, of course.

 

[Ring 6]

I still don't understand how their is a negotiation over what the correct punishment should be for an innocent man.
It is so clearly obvious that Brady has zero guilt (and you could even stop at the zero guilt is PROVEN level if you wish).
So there needs to be a negotiation between the man who did nothing and the guy who incorrectly punished him for it, who either now realizes he did nothing or he is a moron.
How is anything served by trying to meet in between the truth and the mistake you made the first time around because you rushed to judgment.

Well Mr. Now Innocent Murderer. Since your defense showed with DNA evidence that you could not have committed the crime, and we have now convicted the real killer, we don't want to get nothing for the investigation we did, so how about instead of life, we give you 5 years. Sound good?

 

[XLIX]

If Brady's suspension is overturned does that leave the door open to getting our draft picks back or are we screwed because Kraft laid down like a rug?

I don't see Brady's suspension being connected to that.... but IMHO the only way that could possibly happen is if they measure the balls at all sorts of games this year and we see a consistent pattern of 1 PSI lost for every 20 degrees below 70 the game is played at, proving the Patriots' balls were entirely in range as expected, then I think our only hope - which is a total longshot I admit - is that media (political?) forces pressure the league not to punish the team for being in line with everyone else.

 

[The Gr8est]

This is an excellent summary. PF74, I have had no doubts that Brady is going to be available for the start of the season (sorry Jimmie), one way or the other. But regardless of this inevitable truth, I won't personally be happy unless or until Brady takes the league to court on defamation charges. That is the ONLY way to even partially undo the damage done to Brady and the Pats. THAT is a fact.

My biggest fear is that the will do something smart. If I were Goodell I would use the new pregame game ball procedures to come out and say, "I am postponing implementation of the penalties for Brady until 2016. The information gathered from these new procedures will allow us to better understand exactly what happened in the AFCCG. Based on these findings will implement these punishments or not. In the meantime the league will fine Mr. Brady $50,000 for his non-cooperation with Mr. Welles' investigation."

If he does that he will (if I dare say it)he will deflate most of the national media's feeding frenzy WITHOUT taking the onus off the Patriots and Brady as cheaters, and we as Pats fans will have to live with this for another year. In other words with this strategy he does 2 things. He gives the nation what it wants (Brady on the field), and never has to admit any guilt, liability, or conspiracy.

I am praying that Goodell will continue his blind stupidity and not "settle" for anything less than the 4 games. It won't stop Brady from playing all 16 games this season, for he will surely win his court case. However the ONLY chance Brady has to regain most of his lost legacy will be to actually have prove his INNOCENCE in a Federal court. And the only way THAT can happen is if he sues the league and media outlets for malicious defamation of character. To my mind Brady has the kind of case can win even in an area where the bar is set as high as it is.

I would hope Brady and the Pats would not accept that deal, any deal along those lines would need all penalties vacated, not postponed for further study. Additionally if the issue was to be studied I wouldn't trust the NFL* to do the study.

The NFL* procedures are obviously lacking, and the new procedures needed to be studied, tested, and implemented. Only THEN is the NFL* in a position to make judgements about who is violating what.

 

[smurfalarm]

Negotiation of punishments has been going on since long before Deflategate.

Were they negotiating with the hearings officer during the appeal arbitration hearing, though, or were they negotiating with commissioner in his capacity as an NFL executive issuing the original punishment?

Frankly, this just emphasizes that it makes no sense for Goodell to be the arbitrator. The entire concept of negotiating with an arbitrator doesn't make sense. The point of an arbitrator is to arbitrate disputes -- that is, an arbitrator acts as an impartial mediator between two parties, and has the special power to make binding decisions when those two parties cannot resolve a dispute through a bilateral settlement. The usual point of a settlement is for the two parties in dispute to come to a mutually acceptable agreement that preempts the arbitrator from making a decision that they might find unacceptable. Yet in this case Brady and the NFLPA are trying to negotiate a settlement with the arbitrator, who clearly has an interest in maximizing Brady's penalty and is using his ability to make binding arbitration decisions as his leverage in the negotiations, while Brady and the NFLPA are using the possibility of suing to overturn the binding arbitration decision in court as their leverage in negotiations. It completely turns the purpose of arbitration on its head.

 

[scott99]

My biggest thing I have an issue with Deflategate wise is, game balls have NEVER, EVER been measured at halftime of ANY game, EVER. That to me screams sting. Why in the world would they check those footballs unless they were alerted beforehand. AND, why haven't they checked game footballs during and after any other game in the history of football. Can anyone say that in the history of football EVERY football ever has been in compliance with the PSI rules. Why pick on the Pats ? And why, after finding out 3 out of 4 Colts footballs were not in compliance, were they NOT penalized one iota ? Why did they stop at 4 footballs ? It just seems so biased against ONE NFL team.

 

[GaryfromTO]

Boston's Olympic bid has died at the age of 6 months and 18 days. It is survived by Deflategate (6 months, 9 days).


Gawd and now Toronto is thinking of bidding again....first Kessel and now this.

 

[The Gr8est]

My biggest thing I have an issue with Deflategate wise is, game balls have NEVER, EVER been measured at halftime of ANY game, EVER. That to me screams sting. Why in the world would they check those footballs unless they were alerted beforehand. AND, why haven't they checked game footballs during and after any other game in the history of football. Can anyone say that in the history of football EVERY football ever has been in compliance with the PSI rules. Why pick on the Pats ? And why, after finding out 3 out of 4 Colts footballs were not in compliance, were they NOT penalized one iota ? Why did they stop at 4 footballs ? It just seems so biased against ONE NFL team.

It isn't always biased against the Pats, why just two seasons ago a team was penalized by a game-changing penalty that had never been called before in the history of the NFL* and hasn't been called since.

So it isn't just the Pats.


Oh WAIT!!!!!!

 

[raduray]

The NFL's threat is that Brady has to risk getting a judge who won't hear the case because it's a matter of a disputed Arbitration outcome.

Each has to decide what they are willing to take as an acceptable outcome to avoid an unwanted result.

If a judge agrees to hear the case, can that decision be appealed by the NFL prior to the case being heard?

 

[goheels22002]

The thread title should be "Garoppolo: Wait a Damn Minute! Brady Did It and I Get To Start Four Games."

 

[MitchKumstein]

It isn't always biased against the Pats, why just two seasons ago a team was penalized by a game-changing penalty that had never been called before in the history of the NFL* and hasn't been called since.

So it isn't just the Pats.

Oh WAIT!!!!!!

Assuming you're referring to that stupid "pushing a player during a field goal" penalty that handed the jest a gift 'win' against the Patriot, is it true that penalty has never been called again?

I almost forgot about that one. It's tough to remember all the ways that goodell's NYJFL has screwed our team over the years

 

[Ivan]

I think I will watch the Super Bowl again.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

If a judge agrees to hear the case, can that decision be appealed by the NFL prior to the case being heard?

Not sure. But, I suspect they'd try to do what the judge will tell them to do before hearing the case: negotiate a settlement.